A Dream of Living Free
by wolfpeach
Summary: "I don't think about myself. It's easier that way. I'm just their doll, to do with as they will. Sometimes though, I dream of living free, making my own decisions about things. Is that so wrong?" "No. Maybe I'll help you out with that someday." - Canon Divergent AU answering the question- what if Bierrez had come back to help Gil escape?
1. Prologue: Escape

Bierrez ran as hard as he could down the halls, evading the sound of his pursuers. If they caught him, he was dead. If they didn't catch him, they'd be dead. Oh well, sucks for them. Serving in the demon army was less about loyalty to the king and more of an every man for himself free-for-all. He turned sharply up a corner, and... straight into a dead end.

Bierrez swore, standing at the ornate doors in front of him. There was no hope- his pursuers were too close for him to choose another route, and the door before him lead straight into the private quarters of the only man as feared as the Demon King. Bierrez had no desire to go through those doors and try to explain himself to the man they belonged to.

"He came this way!" shouted a voice.

Another answered with laughter. "You head down that way, I'll check this one. We've got him now!"

Bierrez turned his back on the door. He was going to have to fight his way out and pray to a god he didn't believe in that General Shydeman didn't come to see what the noise was about. There were only what... five or ten guys chasing after him? He could take care of that, no problem. Probably. Not like he had much of a choice either way. Bierrez reached for his sword, but his heart jumped into his throat when he heard the door creak behind him.

"Come in," hissed an unfamiliar voice behind the door. "Unless you enjoy having your skin peeled off. It's all the same to me."

Bierrez looked back at the door. The options weren't great, but his options were rapidly getting less and less. Out of the frying pan and into the fire he went. He grabbed the handle of the open door and slipped inside.

The room Bierrez found himself in was massive and well lit, with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a wall of windows taller than he was on the far side. There was no sign of a bed, but the space stretched down and around corners, suggesting even more rooms past what he could see. Typical higher ups- saving all the good rooms for themselves.

"Don't worry," said the voice. Bierrez jumped, finally noticing his savior leaning against a corner that lead to some other portion of the general's quarters. "No one else is in here."

"It's you..." Bierrez said, almost to himself. He recognized this man, he realized, from earlier that very day. It was Shydeman's half-human slave, the one he'd seen being lead around in shackles by the general's right hand man. His clothes from earlier were gone, and in their place he had wrapped himself in a shroud of white sheets. Bierrez wasn't sure how not to stare as he tried to make sense of the bizarre situation he'd found himself in.

"These are Shydeman's private chambers," the slave explained, as thought that was something that needed explaining. Bierrez nodded, glancing back at the door. "No one else is allowed in here, not even the guys who are after you. Shydeman just stepped out, so he won't be back for a while." Shydeman's scarred slave looked out towards the windows, shifting his grip on the sheets he'd wrapped himself in. "You can leave through that window."

"But..." Bierrez let the question trail off, unsure how to address the millions of questions he had. Was this a trap? And if not, why the hell had this man decided to give his mercy. If escape was that easy, why wasn't he running? Bierrez didn't move from his spot by the door.

The slave grinned, however, a ghost of a rebellious spirit glimmering for just a moment in his golden eyes. "I never saw you."

Well, that was one of his questions answered. Bierrez tried another. "What about you?"

The slave shrugged this time, the rebellious look in his eyes closing up shop and moving on. "I don't think about myself. It's easier that way. I'm just their doll, to do with as they will." He looked bitter, gripping his shroud tighter. "Sometimes though, I dream of living free, making my own decisions about things. Is that so wrong?"

Bierrez stared at him, this so called plaything of the demon generals. He was far from the browbeaten toy Bierrez would have expected, and more independent than most of the soldiers he'd worked and fought with. Finally, Bierrez shook his head, grinning some. "No. Nothing wrong with that at all." He patted the slave on the shoulder as he passed him, but he didn't react. Bierrez unlatched the tall window, but paused in the frame to glance back over his shoulder. The slave was still leaned against the pillar by the door, watching him go. "I'm Bierrez. You won't want to let Shydeman know you helped me."

"I'm not a fool. We'd both end up dead that way."

"You got a name?" Bierrez asked.

The slave considered this question for longer than he'd thought about any of the others. Bierrez wondered if he knew the answer.

"Gil," he said finally.

Bierrez nodded. "Alright then Gil. I won't forget this. Maybe I'll help you out with your dream one day."

Gil shrugged, not letting any hope or question enter his eyes. Bierrez found his cynicism refreshing. He turned from the room and leapt out onto the roof, running away from the demon castle and into the night. But he wouldn't forget Gil's kindness. After all, Bierrez owed him his life, and Bierrez was a man who hated feeling indebted to anyone.


	2. Reunion and Introduction

Bierrez grinned as he unlatched the window from the outside. It was a lot narrower than the window he'd gone through on his and Gil's last meeting, those years or months ago, but apparently security was better at the Demon Palace these days. Unsurprising, considering all that had happened across the continent. Bierrez slid the glass aside and pushed his feet through the hole, dropping blind down into the cell. The darkness was almost absolute, but worse than that was the smell- dried blood, infection, waste, and despair. Bierrez held his hand to his mouth, suppressing the urge to gag. Yeah. This was a far cry from Shydeman's cushy living quarters. Slowly his eyes adjusted, and Bierrez picked his way through the mess of forgotten furniture and towards the center of the slave quarters. He could hear a snarling, like some sort of beast, and he gripped his sword tightly. Whatever the trouble was, he'd be ready to face it head on. Bierrez tried a few rooms, most empty of anything but corpses or furniture, before he found the source of the snarling.

The room was at the end of the hall, and it appeared there had been a guard there... before he was knocked unconscious by something. Bierrez stepped over his body to get to the room, whose door was sitting ajar. Bierrez carefully slid it open, wondering if this was where he'd find Gil. It was, but the sight was quite different than what he'd been expecting.

Gil was a shadow of the last time they'd met. His hair was longer and matted with blood, and Bierrez was certain he could count his ribs from the doorway. His scars were more numerous too, and along with them came sores and open, bleeding wounds. Worst of all, however, was the sound- the terrible, bestial snarl that dropped from Gil's mouth like the threatened growl of a caged animal. In a sense, Bierrez supposed he was.

They were not alone in the room, however; a tall, lanky man was leaned over Gil, holding his bloody side. Bierrez grinned. Good to see that even like this, Gil was still a fighter.

"He a tougher toy than you expected?" Bierrez jeered, drawing the man's attention. Bierrez held his sword out. "Ah, ah, ah- Step away from him. I'm not really interested in killing you, but I wouldn't have any problem with it, either."

The man drew up to his full height and, shit, he was a lot taller than Bierrez had expected he'd be. "You're the one that needs to leave," he said, pointing at the door. "I don't want to hurt you."

Bierrez laughed. "Well, you won't get anywhere in this world with that kind of attitude. Get away from Gil, or I'm going to kill you."

Gil, for his part, just remained on the floor, snarling and naked. Bierrez didn't like that Gil hadn't stopped snarling like an animal, and that he hadn't reacted when Bierrez had said his name. He didn't even seem to notice Bierrez was there, and, if he did, he certainly didn't see him any differently than he saw this tall interloper. Yeah, Bierrez pretty much hated all of that. But he'd deal with that when the current threat was over.

Said threat, however, did not seem very worried by Bierrez's sword. He lifted the hand that wasn't clasped to his bleeding side and flexed it in some sort of magical gesture. Pitch black lightning crackled over his fingers, not striking, just waiting, an answer to Bierrez's blade. Bierrez finally recognized the man in front of him by his choice of magic.

"Ohhh, so you're not just some nobody weakling," Bierrez said with a smirk. "What was your name again? Laamgarnas, right?"

The man nodded. "That's right. Now as I said-"

Bierrez charged before Laamgarnas could finish speaking, but Laamgarnas was just as quick to react. A bolt of black lightning struck Bierrez square in the chest before he could get within striking range, and he was thrown backwards into the wall by the door. Bierrez felt the wind leave his lungs, and he slid down to his knees, coughing and gasping for breath. Gil flinched back from the fight, pressing into the filthy pile of blankets on the ground behind him with a whimper.

"I said I didn't want to hurt you," Laamgarnas finished. He turned back to Gil. "Come on, it's okay. Just trust me, I'm going to get you out of here-"

"You know he doesn't understand what you're saying, right?" Bierrez snarled, pulling himself back to his feet. If he couldn't win this fight quickly, he could at least get in a few low blows to start. "They've obviously put some sort of spell over his mind. Bastards." Now that he had his breath again, Bierrez could tell he wasn't as injured as he'd feared, and so he once more advanced on Laamgarnas with his sword.

Laamgarnas either didn't notice or didn't care that Bierrez was coming at him with a sword now. His attention was all on Gil, trying to cajole him out of his rotting mess of blankets. Bierrez was about to stab him in the back when he finally spoke again. "I'm getting him out of here, and you can't stop me." Laamgarnas looked back at Bierrez. "Given that you called him by name, however, I assume you want to do the same thing. Why not work together?"

Bierrez weighed his options carefully. As always, he was overwhelmed by too many questions and not enough time or interest to properly ask them. "Why do you want to help him,?" he settled on.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Laamgarnas answered. His gaze was steady. "I had heard that Shydeman and Shyrendora were keeping a... a cat, but this isn't quite what I expected. Either way, I'm tired of all the violence and bloodshed and treating others like animals."

Bierrez laughed. "I recognize the name Laamgarnas. Aren't you a lieutenant to Shydeman or something like that?"

"I was," Laamgarnas said with a flat, dangerous tone that said he didn't want to talk about it. "I'm not anymore, and I never will be again."

Bierrez considered those words and the look that Laamgarnas was giving him. "Even if you got in by the main doors, you're not going to be able to get him out that way." Laamgarnas looked at him strangely, trying to figure out if that was a threat. "I came in by a ventilation window towards the back. I'll show you the way." Bierrez knelt down in front of Gil, and the way his former savior shrunk back and bared his teeth at him confirmed what Bierrez already knew. "Man, you look like shit," he said to Gil, as though he'd understand. "I bet you went down kicking and screaming, huh."

Bierrez reached out to ruffle Gil's hair, and Gil bit him hard enough to draw blood. Laamgarnas laughed at Bierrez as he cursed and yanked his hand away.

"Yeah, he did that to me, too."


End file.
